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Franzen, Township of

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For more information on this location, please contact our research library.

Author:
Mary Moltzan

Location:
T. 26 N. - R. 10 E.

Formallized:
1901

Background:

Population: 1905-188, 2000-505.

Franzen Township was organized from part of Elderon Township in 1901.

See Village of Galloway

First Public Official:
Adolph Torgerson

Biography:

First Supervisor and Town Chairman Torgerson (see more under Village of Galloway).

Before living in Holt,  Adolph Torgerson had lived in Rosholt.  There he had cruised and bought and sold timberland, continuing to do so when he moved to Holt. Reportedly he owned over forty - 40 acre pieces of land near the Holt area. Born on November 2, 1861, he married Karen Ostensen from Rosholt. He died on May 22, 1932 at the age of 70.

About The Post Office:

See Post Office notes under Villages of Holt and Galloway. These were the only two post offices in Franzen Township.

Railroad:

C&NW Railroad built a spur line from Eland to Rosholt going through the villages of Galloway and Holt.

See Village of Holt

Schools:

From the 1901 Plat Map:

School #1. Section 12 (could have been Fairview school).

School #2. Section 19 located in Holt.

School #3. Section 27 -- Galloway Grade School closed in 1984.

Business:

Stores

Industry:

Logging and lumbering after the railroad came through in 1903

Holt  Sawmill closed in  1912.

Farming:

Originally, not much interest was given to farming. As logging was nearing its end, farming became more prevalent with the best farms being located on the eastern side of the township. Farmers, at the beginning, were challenged by the cut-over land and the need to pull stumps before planting crops. The land in the township was flattened, and the area's sandy soil proved ideal for growing potatoes. Dairy farming also began to prosper in the 1890s with much of the milk being transported to newly-built crossroads cheese factories.